Before The Tempest
by youkomazuki
Summary: "Say, Kakia nee-san. I've always been wondering...how did you and that stupid-senpai got together?" It all started with the young illusionist's curiosity. BelxOC


"Say, Kakia nee-san."

"…Hm?"

"I've always been wondering…" The frog hooded boy said as he glanced to the lump beneath layer of thick blanket. "How did you and Bel-senpai got together?"

"…What brought that up?" The voice of a woman's asked as the blanket was shoved away, revealing a river of amethyst coloured hair with amaranth pink highlight scattered messily over the pale bed sheet. Amber cat-like eyes were slowly revealed behind the pale eyelids. The pale, cracked lips parted as a series of coughs echoed into the room.

"Are you going to die, Kakia nee-san?" The boy with seafoam green hair asked in a monotone voice that matched his apathetic face. That comment immediately earned a foot slamming into the side of his head as the young illusionist was knock out of his chair. "Geeh!" His scream (if that can even be considered a scream) held no pain or any other emotion as he flopped onto the ground.

"Who's dying you–…!" The woman snapped weakly before falling limp over the edge of her bed, like a balloon that had just ran out of air. She panted heavily with incredibly flushed face. A wince left her parted lips as her head fell back heavily onto the bed. "Ugh…!" She clenched onto her head with one of her pale hands. She felt a force pounding from inside, as though trying to split her skull in half.

"That's why you shouldn't have yelled." The teen stated in a matter-of-fact tone that only caused a vein to jump over the other's head. The woman didn't protest though. She was too weak to.

"So…?" She glanced at the boy through half lidded eyes, decided to shift the subject back to avoid bursting a vein. "Why the sudden interest in our backstory now, Fran?"

"I was told that Kakia nee-san was captured by Bel-senpai through an assignment, that's how Kakia nee-san became part of Varia. But there's just something I don't understand…" Fran said as Kakia somehow managed to roll herself back to the pillow that was previously soaked in her sweat. "Considering Bel-senpai's twisted hobby, I can imagine him cutting you open but I can't imagine him capturing you back alive."

"Oh?"

"I doubt that self-proclaimed prince fell in love at first sight with you either." Fran said sharply. Despite his usual carefree self and idiotic behaviours, the boy was quite intelligent. Kakia glanced at the boy for a long while before turning to the ceiling

"…True…in an assignment that was either capture alive or kill, he'll definitely choose the latter." Kakia smiled, her expression softening considerably at the mention of her blond lover. "If that was the first time we met…I probably would be like any other of his victims."

"First time?" Fran pulled his chair upright and sat back down. "So Kakia nee-san and that stupid senpai met before?"

"For two years…before he received his assignment of me." Kakia replied before a smile turned over her lips. The memory burned vividly within her mind as though it was only yesterday. Under normal circumstances, Kakia wouldn't expose something like this so casually, but lying on the bed for two days can be quite boring. She needed something to help distract her from the pain she had to endure, and it wasn't as though their past was any secrets anyways. _'Bel…I haven't seen him for a while now.' _Kakia was pulled back to reality by a throaty cough.

"I first met him about five years ago…when I was nineteen and Bel only two years older."

Oo0oO

_Kakia hummed a soft tune as she sat at the edge of the building. Her eyes illuminated within the darkness as she watched a figure walked down the lonely street with a hat and coat covering his face despite the warm climate of the early September air. She swung her legs and watched until the figure darted into an alley. With a kick off the edge, Kakia flew through the night sky, landing on top of a lamppost before flying over the street and landed on another roof. Her steps were as silent as a cat's as she swiftly threw herself down the narrow gap between the two buildings. _

_She came face to face with the figure, causing the other to scream and tumble back from shock. Because of his sudden movement, his hat slipped from his bald head. Kakia's eyes shone brighter. The man's face was as clear as day despite the shadows looming over them. She dug her hand into her pocket to pull out a photo._

"_Adolfo De Luca. Age thirty-two. Previously a member of the Blasigh Family until captured and charged with first degree murder." The minute the man heard her words, he subconsciously flinched and that was all Kakia needed to confirm his identity. _

"_Who are you?" The man demanded, standing up straight in attempt to look more intimidating. _

"_There's point telling my name to a dead person." Kakia replied in a smooth voice and took notice of how much her word irked the other. _

"_Don't fuck with me!" Adolfo shouted as he quickly pulled out a greenish box. On his other hand, the ring he wore was lit with the Lightning attribute flame. He pushed his ring into the hole and a wave of green electricity leaped out to reveal a lynx._

"_Answer me! Who are you? Y-You're one of them aren't you?"_

'Them?'_ Kakia thought, wondering what the man was talking about._

"_I personally have nothing against you, but the family you betrayed wanted to keep you quiet." Kakia replied with a smile before holding out her right hand as bright blue flame burst from her ring. "If you keep still, I can promise it'll be painless."_

"_Don't overestimate yourself, little girl!" The man shouted as his box weapon growled before charging her way. The teenage girl smiled, opening her box weapon to pull out a large, metal ring in the size of a large circular with razor sharp blade covered in blue flame running at the outer layer of the metal loop. The blades stopped at two opposite end, leaving a small, unprotected part for the handle. The handle had a crimson cloth wrapped around the metal for an easier grip. _

_The heavy bladed hoop met the floor with a loud thumb, leaning against its user's back with pale hands gripping at the handle. Kakia stood calmly still as she watched the lynx dashed towards her with fangs and claws. When it pounced, Kakia hurl out her weapon. The circular blade spun rapidly as it sliced through the air. With the dying will flame burning brightly within the darkness, it looked almost like a ring of fire. Unable to react in time, the lynx roar out in pain as it was split in two, perfect halves. When the remains of the lynx fell onto the ground, its body scattered into a wave of green electricity and disappeared. _

"_Heh, how weak." Kakia laughed as her weapons made a sharp turn and headed back to her. She raised her hand and grabbed her weapon's handle with precise aim, stopping it from spinning. "But…" Her smile morphed into a smirk as her gaze hardened. "I guess I can't expect too much from the payment on your head!" With a twist of her body, Kakia threw her weapon towards her target with even harder force than before. _

_Adolfo didn't react. _

_He couldn't. _

_Kakia didn't give him that time. _

_She smirked as her weapon went straight for the man's throat when a blur of shadow suddenly darted out of nowhere. The intruder and her blade met for a split second before her blade's angle was pushed off and ended up smashing into a wall. Despite the collusion, Kakia's blade was still spinning violently within the large crack, filling the narrow alleyway with heavy layers of dust. _

"_Who's there?" Kakia demanded, but she wasn't able to see anything through the filthy air. _

"_Ushishishishi." An eerie laugh echoed into the quiet night. _

_Sensing something coming straight at her, Kakia jumped back just in time as a knife whizzed through the air and stabbed into the cement ground. She glanced down at the silver knife, taking in its unique, curved shape that she has never seen before. _

"…_?" Kakia slowly reached up a hand when she felt something trickling down her cheek. Her fingers met with warm fluid. When she pulled her hands away, Kakia's eyes flew wide. _

_Blood. _

'How–?'_ A soft wince escaped her lips when Kakia shifted from her spot. Her eyes snapped to her shoulder, discovering a deep cut at her skin. When she squint her eyes, Kakia began to see the cause. Wires. There were wires everywhere, trapping her in place. _'That guy…when did he…?' _When Kakia's view shifted upward, her eyes widened at countless blades hovering over her head. _

"_Bye bee~" _

_She heard that voice spoke before the knives were released from their hold and shower down towards her. Kakia gritted her teeth…and a smile swept over her lips. The loud impact of the knives could be heard miles away with the dust pouring out into the deserted street. _

"_Shishi…" The silhouette of the intruder snickered before he turned to a dumbfounded Adolfo. "Now then–" The man smirked as he drew out three knives. Before he could skewer the body, a burst of rain attribute flames suddenly shot out from the cloud of dust. The man's smirk faded when he noticed his wires snapping one after another, burned away by the immense heat. The dust was cleared away in an instant, revealing countless knives embedded into the ground. The woman stood, the area around her by a meter's radius was completely clear of the silver knives. _

_Remembering that towering flame, the blond man glanced up only to see the flames coming straight at him. A smirk grew over his lips as his ring burned in bright red flames. "Box open!" The man called as the storm attribute dying will flame shot out from his box weapon. The two flames met, smashing head to head against each other. Then, Kakia's box weapon suddenly shifted direction, running around the crimson flame and snatched her weapon. With a sharp turn, the blue flame shot back to the crimson one that dodged and both flames returned to their master's side. _

"_Visone Tempesta." The blond introduced with a wide smile as the crimson flame burst apart, revealing a white mink resting around his furred hood._

"_Not bad~" Kakia sang in amusement as the blue flame flew over her head, dropping her weapon which she caught swiftly in her hand. The wave of blue flame settled by her side, revealing a greyish white leopard with blue flames burning brightly at its tail and ears. "Leopardo delle nevi pioggia*." Kakia introduced hers. She scratched her box weapon behind the ear and earned herself a deep purr._

"_Now then…who are you?" Kakia questioned as her gaze shifted to Adolfo. "His companion?"_

_The blond man smirked in response. Before he could reply, Adolfo suddenly broke out a bloody scream before he clumsily crawled onto his feet. "Y-You're…Prince the Ripper!" He choked. He turned, about to make a run for it when two knives was thrown into the side of his tight. Adolfo's bloody shriek echoed into the moonless night._

"_The prince didn't give you permission to leave." The blond snickered with a wide grin plastered over his face. Adolfo cried in pain as he desperately tried to crawl away, only earning another knife. _

'Prince the Ripper…?'_ Kakia thought she scanned the blond. _'That name…where have I…?'

"Answer me! Who are you? Y-You're one of them aren't you?" _Adolfo's words echoed in her mind. _'By _them_…was he talking about him?'_ Kakia's golden eyes shifted back to the blond. Then again, whatever it was, it wasn't any of her concern._

"_This man is the prince's prey. A peasant like you should back off." Kakia blinked at the strange way he spoke in. She didn't understand what was with the prince and peasant, but one thing was for certain._

_This man is after her target._

"_Are you kidding?" Kakia huffed. "I don't care who you are. I came here first so he's mind." _

"_Shishishi, is that so?" The man gave another one of that eerie laugh before he spread his hands, revealing a line of countless knives held within the air by more wires. Kakia tightened her grip over her weapon as she spread her legs apart, looking as though she was about to pounce onto the intruder any moment._

_The two box animals, sensing the tension between their owners, growled at each other's presence._

Oo0oO

"As expected of barbarians…quite a violent way of encounter."

Kakia chuckled at the young illusionist comment. "Indeed…for a royalty as he claimed, he doesn't know a thing of delicacy." She agreed as she closed her eyes, trying to relive the memory for a sort while.

"So who won?" Fran just had to interrupt. Kakia knew the child couldn't care less who had actually won, but he just said it for the sake of it.

"…We never finished the battle." Kakia replied. "We were so caught up with each other…" she was broke off by a couple of light coughs, "…we didn't notice that Adolfo had ran away. But if we had continued, Bel would have won." Kakia said without even needing a second thought. She could still remember the shapes they were in when they discovered their prey gone from under their nose. Kakia was panting heavily, drenched in her own blood. Belphegor, despite also suffering from injuries she inflicted on him, looked like he was thirsty for more. That trademark smirk of his never left his face.

"With the state I was in, I was in no condition to fight anymore, so I left."

"But isn't that strange? Why was Bel-senpai after a traitor of some other family?"

"He killed a member of the Varia. To be precise, a subordinate directly under Bel."

"That stupid senpai's avenging his subordinate?" Fran spoke in a tone that sounded slightly disbelieving.

"Of course not." Kakia denied. "It was an order…what would people say when they heard some weakling took out a member of the Varia and they did nothing about it? It would make them look bad." Closing her eyes, Kakia breathed softly, trying hard to ease the spinning pain in her head.

"Four months later since that night, we met again in Parma…"

Oo0oO

"…_parmesan chicken, melanzane alla parmigiana and…arancini is also good…" Kakia murmured as her eyes scanned down the menu. The waiter beside her stared with disbelieving eye at the amount of food the thin woman had ordered. "And some…hm…" She trailed off into silence as she pondered on what else she should get._

Oo0oO

"So Kakia nee-san's gluttonous started even that long ago? No wonder you're overweight. I bet that's why you got a fever."

"Shut up." Kakia said with another vein. "Who are you calling overweight?"

"Aren't you?" Fran question innocently. "The fact that you could still remember what food you ordered two years ago is amazing. I bet no living being in this world could do it."

Kakia's face flushed even more at that comment. "A-Anyways," she coughed into her hand.

Oo0oO

"_Miss…" The waiter finally spoke, breaking the silence as golden eyes shifted towards him. "How about I take your orders for now? Some of these dishes you've ordered would take some time to prepare." He asked, keeping a very refine and polite tone. At that, Kakia smiled, before quickly holding out a hand to keep the waiter from running off._

"_Add cacciucco and prosciutto…" She said, pointing to the menu before closing it shut and putting it down onto the table. _

"_O-Of course." The waiter said as he wrote down her extra orders. "Would you like anything to drink?"_

"_What do you have?"_

"_We have high-quality wines such as __Colli di Parmar or Sauvignon-"_

"_No." Kakia cut him off. "No wine."_

"_Then could I recommend you to some of our coffee?"_

"_Forget it, I'm not a fan of caffeine. Just get me a glass of cold water." Kakia sighed and allowed the waiter to take off. She picked up her fork, fiddling it around as she has nothing to do…until an expected voice suddenly spoke beside her ear. _

"_Ushishishi…such a large appetite for a peasant~" _

_Kakia's eye widened at that familiar way of laughing. The laughter she couldn't keep out of her mind ever since her first encounter of it three months ago. "You're…" Kakia whispered before the fork that was in her hand flew by the crook of her neck, shooting out from her curtain of hair and stabbed into the wooden wall. The fork shook from the force, missing the head of its target by a mere inch._

"_Sorry." Kakia spoke in a singsong voice. "My hand slipped." _

"_Shishishi did it now?" The voice spoke dangerously close to her ear. Kakia smirked at the arm dangling off her left shoulder. The cold metal of the blade was further pressed against her throat. _

"_You're going to kill me here?" Kakia asked, arching an eyebrow as she glanced around at the people within the restaurant, acting ignorant to the danger she was in. With another light snicker, the blade was removed from her neck, leaving only a pinkish cut on her skin as the man walked around her. _

"_I'm a break so consider yourself lucky today." The blond said as he took the seat opposite from hers. He made himself comfortable, leaning back into his chair with his hands behind his head and feet upon the table._

"_And?" Kakia ignored the other customer's gazes that were attracted by the blond's poor manner. "What do I own the honour to have you joining me for lunch, Prince the Ripper – or do you prefer I call you Belphegor?" _

"_Shishi…so you know of the prince." Belphegor said as he picked up the menu lying on the table. _

"_Your name isn't hard to look up." Kakia replied. She stared at Belphegor for a while before she caught the faint scent of blood that stained him._

'He killed someone before coming here…'_ Kakia thought to herself quietly. _

"_The prince was just passing by after finishing a mission." Belphegor suddenly spoke, catching Kakia off guard. _

"_Is that so?" Kakia murmured as she examined the blond wondering exactly how he saw through her. She was pretty sure she had her expression in check. Belphegor smirked at the confusion in Kakia's golden eyes before calling over a waiter to make his order. _

Oo0oO

"You two really met again like that?" Fran's voice interrupted. Though his face was void of emotion, his voice held obvious doubts.

"What's with that suspicious tone?" Kakia questioned.

"I was expecting more violence…like you know, blood splattering everywhere, screaming, intestines leaking out~"

"We only fought that time because we were after the same target. It wasn't like we had anything against each other." Kakia replied before shifting a narrowed gaze at her junior. "Although he's sometimes twisted in the mind, that doesn't–"

"Don't you mean always?"

"–mean he'll go around killing off anyone in sight." Kakia continued. The young illusionist's correction was completely ignored.

"But as I recall, Bel-senpai has a nasty habit of stabbing people." Fran replied, a fairly good comeback which made Kakia speechless for a couple of seconds. "Didn't he kill two of those idiots who were hitting on you and ended up being yelled by that long haired stupid commander a week ago?"

"I would have killed them myself even if he didn't." Kakia spat. It wasn't hard to see how clearly displeased she was at the mention of the two ex-Varia's newbies who were practically all over her. The forms of those men after facing the prince's wraith were beyond recognizable with Belphegor standing over the corpses, drenched in their blood. At the memory of that merciless, brutal scene, Kakia felt her heart fluttered.

No, she wasn't addicted to the sight of blood unlike her other half. She wasn't completely heartless, despite her enjoyment in fights. Belphegor was an expressive type of person, just not in normal human's standard. When he did expressive himself, it would always be through his own method which outsiders would often misunderstand as something inhuman; such as the use of his knives. The way Belphegor slashed the men apart that day with such hatred made Kakia felt loved. It made her felt secure – not that she was ever insecure about their relationship. One of the positive sides about being in relationship with Belphegor was that he would never give her a chance to even doubt their relationship.

He wouldn't allow it.

That was just the way her prince was.

In society's eyes, their ways might be a little twisted and wrong, but they were mafias. Common sense never applied to any of them.

Kakia fought the urge to smile when Squalo scolded Belphegor after discovering the bodies. Of course, he wasn't angry because of the loss of two lives. It was because they had to clean up the mess before their boss, Xanxus comes across it and started complaining how filthy the entire place was. Blood on carpet wasn't exactly an easy thing to remove and Mammon didn't enjoy the idea of spending money to change a new carpet.

"Kakia nee-san?" Fran leaned over Kakia who snapped out of trance.

"Wha–…what?" Kakia mumbled lowly, her voice much weaker than before.

"Your face is flaring up. You look so much like a tomato that it's embarrassing." Fran commented as Kakia brushed her hand over her burning face.

"It's hot…" Kakia winced at another headache. "Ice…get me some ice…"

"Roger~"

When Kakia heard the sound of the door opening and closed, she knew she was left alone in the room. She sighed, feeling her strength being sucked away at a rapid pace. "Bel…" She whispered the name of her love. She wanted to see him, but knew that wasn't possible. He, along with Squalo, Mammon, Lussuria and Levi were out of the country for an important mission. They've been gone for nearly two weeks now.

"Ah…!" Kakia gasped out from another wave of pain. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head with her eyelids tightly sealed. Her head fell limply to the side; the pillow soaking up her sweats. She panted out heavily. Slowly closing her eyelids, she tried to get the sleep she hadn't properly had ever since the fever started a night ago.

Hopefully by the time she wakes, it will go down a little.

Oo0oO

"_Here you go, miss~" _

"_Thank you." Kakia took her hotdog, smiling brightly at the sweet aroma leaking into the air. She raised the hotdog to her lips, about to take a bite when a hand suddenly grabbed hers. Blond hair caressed her cheek as a laughter she knew too well of reached her ears. Before she could react, fanged teeth sank into her hotdog, biting off the end. _

"_Ah!" Kakia gasped before narrowing her gaze to the head resting on her shoulder. "Bel! That's mine!" She snapped as she quickly tore her hotdog holding hand from the prince's grip. Her action only earned a snicker from the man as he pulled himself away. _

"_Ushishishi the prince always gets the first bite." _

"_Again with your irrational logics." Kakia snapped as she shot the Belphegor a glare. However, her glare wasn't able to maintain long before a smile made to her. She sighed and took a bite into her bitten food. "It's been a month." She stated and Belphegor gave his usual laugh. A wide smirk was glued to his lips as he stepped around Kakia so they were face to face._

"_Every time I see you, you're always stuffing yourself like a pig. Maybe I should start calling you piggy?"_

"_You want me to gut you?" Kakia smiled wider, though her tone was anything but pleasant._

"_Shishishi, you think you can?" Belphegor said back, his smile widening at the challenge._

"_What makes you think I can't?"_

"_Because I'm a prince of course~" Belphegor said proudly. _

_Now it was Kakia's turn to laugh. "Princes aren't immoral." She said before the playfulness in her eyes disappeared. "So? What's the job?"_

"_Hah? Job?"Belphegor said, acting ignorant even though he knew what Kakia meant._

"_Didn't you call me here for another job?" _

"_What makes you think the prince called you here for a job?" Belphegor questioned back with a smirk. _

_Kakia blinked. "Then what did you called me here for?" She asked in confusion seeing how this was the first time the prince asked her out for something other than a job. Ever since their second meeting a year ago, they had exchanged numbers. Actually to be precise, Bel somehow during their lunch stole her cell phone and exchanged their numbers without her consult. It wasn't until the next day when she suddenly received a call from the said prince did she realized. They occasionally chat, though mostly during the time when Belphegor was bored out of his mind and had nothing better to do. She didn't know when it started, but eventually as they got to know each other, Belphegor had begun offering her assistant in his jobs. Quite honestly, Kakia never knew why Belphegor even needed her help as he was fully capable enough alone. However, she never really minded since it was easy cash._

"_The prince was bored."_

"…_You were bored." _

"_Ushishishi is there something wrong with that, Kia?"_

"_You called me all the way to Brescia because you were bored." Kakia stated flatly, giving Belphegor a disbelieving look. _

"_Well, I may have other reasons shishi." _

"_I hope you'll tell me?" Kakia asked, raising an eyebrow as she rested a hand on her hip._

"_If you join Varia, the prince might consider telling you~"_

_At his usual joke, Kakia gave a small smile. "I told you." Kakia's expression changed into that of an apologetic one. "I can't, Bel. Sorry." At the usual rejection, Kakia expected the Belphegor to just laugh it off as he usually does. _

_But today was different._

_Belphegor wasn't laughing. _

_There wasn't even a smirk visible on his pale lips. _

"_Why not?" _

"_Why…?" Kakia murmured, not sure what to say. The prince had never questioned her before, so why now? "Bel?" Kakia leaned down a little as though trying to see his hidden gaze through those blond bangs. "You feeling alright?"_

"_Just answer me." Belphegor snapped impatiently. Taken back by that, Kaki's breath stopped for a split second before resuming. Her gaze dropped. Not knowing where to focus her eyes, she decided to taken a sudden interest in her hotdog. Her appetite suddenly left as she was not hungry anymore. _

"_I'm not really interested in being bounded in one place, that's all." Kakia replied as she tossed her hotdog into the nearest trash bin with precise aim. _

"_Is it because you were betrayed by your family?" Kakia felt her blood went cold. Belphegor, pretending not to noticed, continued on. "Kakia isn't your real name. Your real name is–"_

"_**Don't**__." Kakia growled. She looked up. Her eyes were wide with irises dilated into thin slits. Belphegor stared back into those blazing golden eyes calmly. He watched Kakia struggled with the silences. After a long while and seemingly more controlled now, she turned back to Belphegor and asked, "you checked into me?"_

"_I didn't." Bephegor replied before he pulled out a folder containing the documents he was given. "But Varia did."_

_Kakia stared at the brown folder before slowly to the prince._

Oo0oO

"Hn…"Kakia winced as she shifted uncomfortably. '_My head…'_ Kakia gritted her teeth as she clenched onto her bed sheet. No, it wasn't just her head. Her entire body felt numb and itching with immense pain. "Ugh!" Kakia cried out as her eyes snapped open. She quickly sat up, feeling the pain at her back killing her.

"Kakia nee-san?" Fran looked up at Kakia's suddenly violent behaviour. However, Kakia didn't hear her junior's voice. She tried to grit her teeth to keep her voice in, only to realize that she was chattering. She blinked slightly, her eyes resting on the sight of her _frost _covered blanket. Kakia stared blankly, her mind unable to react to anything that was around her. Feeling a painful itch at her arm, she reached a hand over to scratch, only to gasp at the pain drilling into her numbed flesh.

"What is this?" Kakia gasped, staring to the lump of violet colour over her cold skin. Quickly tearing her eyes away, she glanced around to see the bizarre state her room was in. To sum it simply, her room has become a freezer. A thick layer of ice covered the walls with icicles extending down from the ceiling. Kakia stared dumbfounded at the ceiling before she slowly looked down to her hardened bed and frozen pillow.

Then…she snapped out of trance when a hand touched her forehead.

"Oh~! Kakia nee-san, isn't this great? Your fever had gone down." Fran said with a very fake cheer. Kakia's finger slowly brushed over her forehead.

Indeed.

Her forehead wasn't hot anymore.

The heat she expected to feel over her skin wasn't there…actually, there wasn't _any_ source of heat now. Her forehead was freezing during her brief nap. She shifted her gaze slightly and saw Fran putting back on a glove over the hand he touched her with.

"Those gloves…" Kakia whispered, recognizing those gloves immediately.

"These?" Fran said as he glanced down. "That's the illusion gloves Verde created."

Illusion gloves. That's right…wasn't that the technology that mad scientist made that turns illusion into…reality…

"Fran…"

"Yes, Kakia nee-san?" Came Fran's lazy reply.

A flash of light shone through those amber irises as a burst of bloodlust erupted from the feverish woman. "You–!" Kakia raised her fist, about to whack more sense into the child when the last thread that was holding her up snapped. Fran sat calmly as he watched her tumbled off the bed and hit the marble (ice) floor.

"Kakia nee-san, what are you doing?" Fran asked as he crouched down beside the said woman. Fran heard Kakia murmuring out something, but he couldn't make out any of the words she had said. On the other hand, Kakia was debating on whether to laugh at her miserable state or kill the Mist Guardian's idiotic apprentice.

"Kakia nee-san?" Fran called and gave the body a poke. Kakia didn't respond. She could feel the hand poking at her, but she didn't have the strength to even move her finger. The ice pressing against her skin was so cold that it hurt. Her eyelids unwillingly slid over her eyes as she returned to the darkness to escape from the pain. Fran leaned over to see the woman's sleeping face. He reached out his hand, about to give the body a shake when…

_Stab. _

"Ow…" Fran whined as his emerald eyes shifted to a familiar blond standing by the doorway with a very irritated twitch to his usual smiling lips. "Ah, Bel-senpai. You're back." Fran greeted in his usual monotone voice as he pulled the knives from his hood.

"You damn frog!" Belphegor growled as he swiftly moved across the room and gathered Kakia's cold body into his arms. "Kia?" Belphegor called, but no response came. He glanced down to the face of his lover, taking note of the pained look plastered over her drained face and darkened lips. It didn't take long for him to notice the lumps of purplish colours covering her skin.

"Frostbites?" Belphegor whispered before shooting the illusionist a deep glare.

Although Fran couldn't see the glare through those long bangs, he could clearly see the killing intend the other didn't bother to hide. "Kakia nee-san asked for some ice so I gave her some." He explained, only to earn three knives to his side.

"Don't do anything unnecessary!" Belphegor snapped before adding his fist into the froggy's hood.

"Ah~ There you are, Bel-chan~!" A familiar voice came as the prince turned to see the drag queen of Varia walking in.

"I've been looking for you~ We need to report our–" Lussuria stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed the state Kakia's room was in. "Oh my~ What happened to Kia-chan?" He asked, keeping on that smile as he leaned over Belphegor's shoulder for a closer look.

"Apparently some** frog** didn't do a good job taking care of her."

"Is it my fault?" Fran asked innocently, only to earn two more knives stabbing into his hat.

"Of course!" Belphegor hissed before looking up to Lussuria. "Luss, use your box weapon to heal her." Belphegor said quickly. Though he was rude considering how it was a request, Lussuria didn't mind, knowing fully well of the prince's attitude and simply smiled.

"I can take care of those frostbites, but not her fever–"

"Whatever, just hurry and do it."

"Alright~ If Bel-chan says so." He said before pulling out his box weapon with the sun attribute flame lighting his ring.

"Box open~!"

Oo0oO

"…_I see." Kakia slowly closed her eyes. She sighed, leaning her head back against the tree. The stack of documents rested limply at her hands. "So that's how it is." She parted her eyes just a little and glanced at the prince from beneath her eyelashes. _

If refuse to join, eliminate. 

_Kakia snorted out a laugh how such simple instruction could convey so much. "To have Varia set their eyes on me…it's quite the honour." Her eyelids pulled up, revealing her amber cat eyes to the Varia's prodigy. "So? Are you going to kill me now?" She asked without a hint of fear or anxiousness. She didn't know why she bothered asking. It was a rhetorical question. _

_Belphegor didn't say anything._

_After all, there wasn't any need to._

_She was already fortunate enough that Belphegor even bothered asking her. She had been with Belphegor on two of his recruiting assignments before. Only, there was no recruitment. The prince simply slaughtered them with a wide smirk on his face. Naturally, he only understood the command of _eliminate_, not the rest. _

_Kakia waited patiently for his knives to appear. _

_She waited patiently…her eyes boring directly into the prince's eyes that were hidden from the world. _

_As she waited, she felt a slight disturbance at how Belphegor has yet to make his move. _

_Not liking the silence, she parted her lips to question him when his voice beat hers. _

"_Join Varia, Kia." He suddenly spoke, and in a very demanding way that didn't leave room for argument. Kakia didn't respond. She was too shocked to Belphegor took a step, closing the rest of the distance between them as he threaded his hand into her silky two toned hair. With a push, their foreheads came into contact with each other. _

"_I won't betray you, because I'm a prince~" _

_Kakia's eyes flew wide at his words that flooded through her ears. Through such close distance, she could see it – shinning like two precious gems behind the curtain of blonde hair. It was the most beautiful colour she had ever seen. When she realized the prince's eyes were staring sharply back at her, her heartbeat and breathing stopped all at once. Kakia's hand fell limp to her side. The Varia's documents scattered onto the ground wet from last night's rain. _

Oo0oO

'_It's warm…' _Kakia breathed out gently as she snuggled closer to the source of the warmth. When she did so, she felt something around her move as a comforting sound of heartbeats reached her ears. _'This sound…' _Kakia's eyelid weakly opened as she breathed in the a very familiar scent

"…Bel?" Kakia whispered almost inaudibly. A soft gasp escaped her lips when she felt the weight around her body tightened in response. Her eyelids fell back over her eyes with a smile over her lips. "When…did you got back?"

"Shishi…enough to give that froggy a good beating."

"Hm…I see." Kakia murmured as she inhaled another breath of her prince's scent. When she felt the soft warmth around her neck moved again, she slowly opened her eyes. In the darkness, she caught a glimpse of crimson light. She blinked some more, getting rid of the blurriness before turning only to meet the familiar face of the prince's box weapon.

"Mink?"

Mink tightened its body around Kakia's neck in a similar fashion of its master when she called his name. Smiling at the cuteness of the animal, Kakia slipped an arm from Belphegor's grip and scratched the little creature behind its ear. As she did so, Kakia caught a glimpse of hair sprawling around her legs. She blinked, taking a closer look to catch the violet hue in them.

"My hair…?" Kakia whispered as she rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she wasn't dreaming. Her hair had grown to her knees…?

"That noisy Luss healed you with his box weapon. He trimmed your nails, but not your hair since the prince likes it better this way." Belphegor snickered as he reached his hand behind Kakia and combed his fingers down her long hair.

"Healed me…?" Kakia whispered. She dug into her mind in hopes of figuring out what he was talking about, but she couldn't remember. The last memory she has was her asking Fran for some ice before falling asleep.

"Kia."

Kakia looked up only to feel the warmth of Bel's forehead against hers. A wave of nostalgic feeling hit her at his gentle gesture. Kakia smiled, despite the nauseous feeling flipping from her stomach. "Looks like your fever had gone down a bit." Belphegor said before away. Kakia sighed softly and rested her head against Belphegor's chest.

"My head still hurts." She murmured softly as Mink snuggled closer to her as though wanting to ease her pain.

"Want me to get you some food?"

"No…not…hungry…"

"Ushishishi, this is the first time the piggy denied food." Belphegor stated, but his laughter quickly died away when he felt Kakia's breathing rate slowed. He glanced down and gently moved away some of her violet hair to reveal her sleeping face. With a slight smirk, Belphegor leaned down, stealing a kiss from his princess's lips before pulling her back into his protective arms.

"The prince doesn't like being kept waiting, Kia. Shishi."

* * *

><p>Kakia – Kakia is the name of the daimona of vice and moral badness.<p>

Leopardo delle nevi pioggia - Rain Snow Leopard


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